A Cornish motorcycle rider training school has been shut down over a series of failures to comply with regulations which "put vulnerable road users at risk".

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) said the "clear evidence" of the owners' failings left it "little choice but to close" Kernow Bike Training (KBT), based at Rosevear Industrial Estate in Bugle, near St Austell.

The agency which regulates the driving industry outlined a list of evidence in the company's provision of compulsory basic training (CBT) that it had "fallen far short of the standards".

These included allowing trainees to ride unsupervised out of sight of the trainer at the Royal Cornwall Showground, training more than the maximum allowable riders at the same time on the road, allowing trainee riders to use bikes without the required 'L' plates and failing to realise a trainee rider had fallen behind. This meant the rider was on the road unsupervised.

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An incident of allowing a student to ride without 'L' plates was said to have led to trainees committing an offence.

Kernow Bike Training, based at 2A Rosevear Industrial Estate, has been shut down by the DVSA

On its website, KBT says it provides training at Penrice School in St Austell, Treviglas College at Newquay, St Austell Rugby Club, Royal Cornwall Showground at Wadebridge, its own base and at the Bodmiin, Camborne and Plymouth test centres. The website features dozens of 'testimonials' from satisfied customers.

The site also states: "Kernow Bike Training Limited is here to provide you with all the skills you need to ride a motorcycle safely. Be it from a CBT course on a 50cc moped through to a DAS (direct access) course to ride a 1400cc super tourer we can offer you the training and skills required.

"Our instruction is tailored to suit your needs and we teach at the pace you learn at which offers you the highest standard of motorcycle training, making you safe and confident on the roads around Cornwall and Devon.

"We realise that learning to ride motorcycles is serious stuff, but we all feel it is still possible to have a laugh at the same time. Please feel free to join in with the fun as well ! Remember we all make mistakes as long as it doesn’t hurt it doesn’t really matter."

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DVSA deputy chief driving instructor Mark Winn said: "DVSA is committed to helping people through a lifetime of safe driving and we will not hesitate in taking action to protect vulnerable learner riders.

"Motorcycling is a high risk activity and DVSA have a responsibility to make sure motorcycle trainers are complying with regulations and meeting our standards.

"We closed Kernow Bike Training after we found clear evidence that they had fallen far short of the standards and were putting vulnerable road users at risk."

He added: "DVSA never take the decision to close a training school lightly, and are fully aware of the impact such action can have on not just the authority holder but also on others employed by the school.

"In consciously breaching the training ratios and allowing trainees to ride unsupervised on unauthorised parts of the Cornwall show ground, the owners left us with little choice but to close Kernow Bike Training."

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The reasons for the decision:

The instructor allowed CBT Trainees to ride off the approved area and around the Royal Cornish Showground unsupervised. There is a clear road safety risk by enabling novice motorcycle riders to practice when they could not see the learner to intervene in an emergency.

The instructor was providing instruction to three trainees on the road. Regulation 67 (2a) specifies that no more than two riders can be accompanied by a certified instructor while conducting element E of an approved training course (CBT).

The instructor knowingly allowed riders to use bikes on the road that were not displaying ‘L’ plates. Displaying L-plates is a condition of riding with a provisional licence. These actions resulted in trainees committing an offence.

The instructor failed to recognise in good time that the trainee at the back of the group had become separated. It is a concern that a novice rider was on the road not under supervision of a certified instructor.

A Kernow Bike Training spokesman told Cornwall Live in response to the DVSA's statement: "There were two trainees on the road. There was another rider who had successfully completed her CBT several weeks earlier who was following the route that was taken. She was legally allowed to be riding on the roads.

"The unsupervised riders each had over 20 years' experience and had previously been riding as part of the old licensing scheme. They were carrying out training so they could progress to undertaking their full bike license with KBT. They were within sight and radio contact at all times and were no more than 15 metres outside of the training area. "The pupil who was separated was one of those experienced riders and he became separated at a busy roundabout, which we were already committed to. The road joined was the A39 and was a clearway followed by Cornish hedgerows and would have been dangerous to stop given the nature of the road, so we waited at the next safe spot where he safely joined us within a minute. "Kernow Bike Training has successfully trained hundreds of pupils during their years of trading. "They are deeply saddened by the DVSA decision to shut them down but given [owner David Avery's] current ill health, he is too unwell to pursue the matter further."

The spokesman also said that there have been ongoing communications between KBT and the DVSA and that MP Steve Double was "assisting" the business in the matter, due to Mr Avery's poor health.